


A Good Egg

by Hyah_through_Hyrule, Madmeeper



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fluff, Hard boiled egg?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Calamity, egg, neither does Link, sunnyside up egg?, we just don't know, zelink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2018-12-24 13:51:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12014100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyah_through_Hyrule/pseuds/Hyah_through_Hyrule, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madmeeper/pseuds/Madmeeper
Summary: Zelda decides to adopt a Lizaflos “for research purposes” against Link’s protests. Shenanigans ensue.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, welcome to Madmeeper's and Hyah-through-Hyrule's great Egg AU. We have it all here folks; poached, deviled, scrambled, and yes, even over easy Eggs. Hop right up, take 'em while they're hot! 
> 
> If you haven't already, please do yourself a favor and take a look at what started it all.  
> http://madmeeper.tumblr.com/post/164436630223/

That fateful day started like any other. It was a warm spring morning, a light western breeze rustled through the white and pink blossoming trees. The tall shoots of olive grass and flowers gently swayed from side to side while small birds chirped above looking for insects to feast on.

The smell of cooked eggs wafted through the small home, Link’s stomach rumbled when the aroma made its way to his nose, although he did not stir. It wasn’t unusual for him to laze around in bed long after the sun rose, especially as of late. The extra sleep he’d been having was well earned, or at least so he had been told.

“Link.” He pulled a light blanket over his shoulder upon hearing the voice and he nestled himself further into his warm mattress. It was a comforting tone, he couldn’t help but feel at ease as he tried falling back asleep. Things were calm and perfect.

“Link!” The voice was urgent this time, but fortunately it lacked a sense of panic. Link groggily wiped his eyes and he let out an audible yawn to assure he was in fact awake. He pulled off his blanket, letting it slip into a pile on the floor, and he spent the next few minutes stretching his arms and legs. Once he finished, he at last got out of the heavenly bed and lazily drooped an old beige tunic over his shoulders. Eventually he made his way downstairs and was greeted by the sight of a lavishly decorated table.

The old wooden table had a lovely blue tablecloth with golden embroidery- it had been a gift handmade by Paya, it was usually kept safely folded on a shelf above the lounging chair. A bouquet of yellow spring flowers adorned the center, two blue and silver candles rested on opposite ends of the display, their gentle flickering glinted against the various platters and silverware.

Two hefty mushroom and pepper filled omelets sat on top of the plates, the steam rising from them indicated they were yet fresh from the pan. Alongside the eggs were a bowl of cinnamon baked apples and a plate of thinly sliced radishes.

“Ah, he finally rises from his slumber.” A voice spoke gently from behind. Soft arms wrapped themselves around his midsection and enveloped him in a much desired hug.  He leaned back into the embrace, lingering for a few long moments until he was finally released. When he turned around he was greeted by a bright, smiling face.

Zelda was wearing her day clothes already, and Link recognized the outfit to be the one she often liked to travel in; all it was missing was the various belts and packs she used to store and log her research journal notes in. In his peripheral vision he could see said gear lying neatly in front of the door ready to go.

Something was up, but Link wasn’t going to question it, not when there was a tasty looking meal in front of his face. Zelda pulled the chair out and gestured towards it, she smiled warmly as Link sat down and scooted towards the table, and sat down across from him. She held her cheek lightly in her hand, her half lidded green eyes blinked at him slowly while he reached for his silverware. He grabbed the fork and immediately began piling food onto his plate, first trying the apples, which were sweet and melted in his mouth. Zelda went for the radishes first, her smile, while wonderful, held a tinge of mischievousness that Link couldn’t quite place. Surely she hadn’t done anything to the food...no, she would never. Something else was going on.

He cocked his head ever so slightly and he squinted his eyes, if Zelda noticed he was suspicious then she was doing a fantastic job of hiding it. Deciding to not let perfectly good food go cold, Link stuffed bits of the omelet into his mouth. Thank Hylia for eggs, they were, in Link’s opinion, one of the best things in the world. They were heavenly to say the least, he could have eaten nothing but that dish for a week and would be content. The two ate in companionable silence and lingered at the table once they were finished with their breakfast.

The lack of children running around was strange, usually around this time they were begging to play outside. Link turned his head and peeked in the direction of the kids’ room, a slight frown crept to his face when he saw it was empty. They didn’t have another trip planned until the following month... something strange was going on. Then, as if she could read his thoughts, Zelda spoke up to ease his mind.

“Paya is watching Karane and Viscen for us today.” Oh? While it was by no means unusual for their friend to watch the children while they were gone, it was strange for them to be sprung on her so suddenly. Of course that was assuming whatever Zelda had planned hadn’t been thought of in advance. “There have been reports of increased monster activity near Kolomo Village, we should investigate the situation before it becomes an issue.”  _ So that’s all this was about then _ . Link let a smile cross his face and nodded, he stood and kissed the top of Zelda’s forehead before returning to his room to get ready for the day.

Kolomo Village was an hour south on horseback, it was a small settlement, perhaps far too small for it to even be called a village. Shortly after the defeat of the Calamity, a pair of travellers laid claim to the decimated ruins of the old garrison with the intention of building a home for their growing family to live in. They built their house within the old fortification while clearing out the crumbling rubble, soon after a few more families moved in and built houses of their own. A small shop had been built in the center of it, as it turned out the growing hamlet was a popular resting point for those travelling through Central Hyrule.

No matter how small the settlement, neither Link or Zelda were ones to ignore a plea for help, especially ones from their own people. Even if he wasn’t bound by honor and duty, he still would have gone to help the people anyway, it really wasn’t a problem for him.

Link pulled his blue champion’s tunic over his current one and he tied his loose hair up. This wasn’t going to be a political outing, so he wouldn’t have to put on  _ that _ dreaded outfit he kept stashed as far as it would go into the closet. He shuddered at the thought of having to wear it on the next dignitary trip he went on. No, this was a casual event, he could wear whatever he wanted and no one would care. Wearing the blue tunic made him recognizable, when the people saw him about he gave them hope. Or something like that, he couldn’t remember what Impa had told him all those years ago and he was too nervous to ask now.

While tossing a few supplies in his bag, he strapped a broadsword to his belt and hurried back down the stairs. The dishes from breakfast were still on the table, but they’d deal with that when they returned home. Link stepped outside and gave himself a moment to let his eyes adjust to the bright outdoors. 

Mabe Village was bustling with activity, as it typically was. Shoppers bartered for prices at the stores, children romped in the streets with their pet dogs in tow, construction workers were busily working their saws and hammers, and tourists were ogling at the imposing Hyrule Castle from a respectable distance. Officially, the village was a regular trade settlement and tourist destination. Unofficially it was the temporary new capital of Hyrule until Castle Town proper could be rebuilt.

When he walked towards the stable, his numerous neighbors waved, bowed, and even in one case, saluted to him. He waved back politely and continued on with his short jaunt. Zelda was finishing the last bit of putting the tack on the horses when he arrived. Both horses were outfitted in royal gear, but the differences between the two horses were so great that they didn't match all too well . Epona was a stocky dark bay mare, whereas Naya was a slim, tall white stallion. It really didn’t matter that they looked nothing alike, though, they were good loyal horses that Link himself tamed before taking down the Calamity, there was no sense in getting matching horses now after all this time, even if foreigners did think it looked a little bit unprofessional.

Link patted Epona’s neck before hopping onto her saddle, who nickered softly and swished her tail. Zelda did the same, and with a mere glance at each other, they spurred their horses and raced through the open field. With the castle at their backs, they galloped through the vast meadow and carelessly rode past long inactive guardian remains.

It had been eight years since a guardian had been active, and now they were nothing more than old relics of the past that needed to be cleaned up.  The blood moon hadn't been seen since Calamity's defeat, and if Link hadn't seen it for himself all those years ago he would have doubted its existence in the first place. Despite that, Hyrule was still a very dangerous place.

Monsters still lurked through the land, and Yiga bandits sprung attacks on unaware travellers.  It was only a week ago when Link was summoned to Kakariko to deal with a silver lynel that had come too close to the village, and it was just as strong as they were before the Calamity was brought to an end.  No, there was still a long way to go before Hyrule was built up to its former glory, and it was likely that the pair would be working towards true peace for the rest of their lives.

Zelda managed to stay ahead of Link, her steed had far more endurance than his own. Technically they weren’t racing, so technically he hadn’t lost… or at least that’s what he thought. Zelda might disagree.

From Kolomo Lake, Link immediately saw why they’d been called to deal with whatever problem it was the villagers were having. A group of ten bokoblins were harassing the corralled cattle, their incessant screeching enough to drive anyone mad. Link held up his open hand, a signal to Zelda that she should wait in safety while he dealt with the threat. He rode onward with his sword drawn, the bokoblins squealed in a surprised rage when they saw him barreling towards them at top speed. The first few were cut down in a matter of seconds, the remaining monsters scrambling about to collect anything to use as a weapon. They started tossing things at him as he steered Epona around to charge once more, one of the objects hit his arm with a resounding  _ splat _ . It was...an egg?

More eggs were flung at him, fortunately they all missed their intended target. He took out the remaining monsters with ease, and once he was sure they were all defeated he turned to look for Zelda.  She wasn't in the spot he had left her, which had him a bit concerned, but she could take care of herself. He willed the worry away and looked around, leading Epona around the lake until he spotted Naya lying behind a tree.

Zelda was crouched next to some bushes looking intently at something on the ground, so Link moved in to investigate. On the ground seemed to be several nests made of mud, dried grass, and sticks. Crushed eggshells riddled the sorry sight, yellow yolks dripped over the compacted foliage.  At the very least the scene explained where the bokoblins had gotten all those eggs from . 

Link dismounted and leaned against Zelda, and was surprised to see she was furiously writing notes in one of her journals. In front of her was an intact egg that had been miraculously spared by the monsters. When she was finished writing, Zelda safely tucked the book in her pack and she carefully placed the egg in Link’s hands. It was huge, roughly the size of an Eldin ostrich’s egg, though they weren’t found this far south. The texture was strange, almost leathery, it was an odd thing for sure.

"Look at this, Link! I need you to keep this safe, it's imperative that you keep the marking faced up. The embryo will suffocate otherwise, and I'd like to keep it in tact to research it."  Link looked at the red chalk dot Zelda placed on the egg and he nodded in the affirmative. He didn’t know what she had planned for the poor thing, but he knew she wouldn’t let it die. She was extremely knowledgeable about Hyrule’s fauna, she knew what she was doing.

They made their way to the village to let the people know they were safe, Link kept the egg carefully cradled in his arms. If he would have known at the time what it really was, he would have likely dropped it right then and there. Truly, ignorance was bliss. And so he happily followed his wife with her cherished prize nestled safely against harm; he was none the wiser.           

  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, and it seemed as if though the bokoblin gathering truly was an isolated incident. While the threat was gone, Link remained on alert in case there were hidden enemies lurking around waiting for the right moment to strike. He kept the egg carefully tucked against his stomach as his free hand hovered over his scabbard.

The villagers seemed to be on edge, but they smiled and waved when their sovereigns entered the tiny settlement. Link walked with a spring in his step, even though they hadn’t travelled all that far from their home, he was still delighted to be on an adventure, no matter how insignificant it may seem. His many years of exploring taught him that little things led up to great and important things in the long run.

He looked up at the sky when a shadow encompassed the village, none of the dragons flew over the Central region so he knew it wasn’t one of the mystical spirits. A cool breeze sent shivers down his spine, his arms were covered with goosebumps. His thoughts immediately jumped to the dark malice clouds that once plagued and dotted around the castle. The only thing in the sky was a simple white cloud of the non-menacing variety. There was no need to worry himself, that threat was long gone and nothing more than a bad memory now.  

As the cloud passed, so did his worries. The sun brightly lit up the expansive fields, the wind made the grass move in such a way that it appeared to be an ocean of green. Off in the distance stood the lonely remains of Hyrule Castle, even without the gloomy presence of Calamity swirling around it, there was still an aura of unease that permeated from it.

The old crumbling homes and the featureless brown earth did not help the image of the once great stronghold. Grass and other plants could be grown, houses could be rebuilt, but the countless lives lost could not be brought back. He’d rather not have to deal with rebuilding the castle, but he knew that in the long run it was something that must be done. The whole ordeal left a bad taste, but having the castle rebuilt was important for their status and appearance. Some foreign rulers may not take Zelda and him seriously if the symbol of their land was in shambles. It was petty, yes, but they had to uphold looks to appease the other nations.

While rebuilding the castle was important, fixing up the bridges was their highest priority, so while they were being mended the castle would have to wait. The massive pillars that once kept the Calamity contained now sat uselessly in place, their once glowing portions had long since faded away. The ominous purples and reds that used to creep through Castle Town were replaced with a drab gray, no longer was it eerie or threatening, and was merely depressing.

Link snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed a couple staring at him, it seemed as if though they were expecting him to say something. He smiled at them and hoped they didn’t think he was rude or intentionally ignoring them. They glanced at each other and the woman, Cila was her name, spoke up with a calm demeanor.

“Did you find the lizalfos nest?”

_The what now?_ He looked at Zelda who was waving them off and chuckling.

“There’s no need to worry,” she said while grabbing hold of Link’s free hand, “the threat has been taken care of.” "He didn't know lizaflos made nests. Did they rear their young? In his travels he never stumbled across a lizaflos nest, or at least he didn't think he had. He looked down at the egg he was carrying suspiciously, was it possible that--

“Mister Link!”

“Mister Link!”

“Mister Link!” Whatever thoughts he had about the mysterious egg he was tasked with protecting were interrupted by a gang of small children barrelling towards him. He braced for impact and he made sure the egg was safely out of their reach. they all shouted at once and hopped at him. Unlike most adults, the children didn’t treat him any differently simply because he was captain of the royal guard and the prince consort. They treated him like he was an uncle who only visited once in awhile, and in some respect that was the case. He’d known most of the kids since they were toddlers back before he defeated the Calamity, before he had any fancy titles, before he had a family. It was endearing to see them acting this way.

“Tell us about the time you beat the Divine Beasts!”

“No, how about the time you caught that giant horse!”

“That’s lame, what about the time you killed a guardian?”

“Or the time you fought ten lynels at once!” again they all spoke at once, Link couldn’t focus on any one bit of their determined questions. He was certain their parents over exaggerated some of his feats for their night time stories, he’d never taken on more than two lynels at a time, at least not that he could remember.

Link waited for them to calm down, eventually they stopped tugging at his shirt, which already wasn’t in the best shape. It was riddled with mended tears and faint stains that wouldn’t come out no matter how hard he tried to clean it. He was certain the Champion’s Tunic wouldn’t make it through a few more tough battles but he couldn’t bring himself to retire it just yet.

“Papa says you’re not scared of anything,” the youngest in the group, Cari, said with an awed expression on her face, “is that true?” Link paused to reflect for a moment. There were plenty of things he was frightened of, more abstract things that preteens wouldn’t quite understand. He kneeled so he could be at eye level with the kids, he groaned slightly as he strained his right leg which still hurt from when he fell off a roof a couple days earlier.

“No.” he stated and all of their eyes widened, he was well known for his fighting prowess, and he was also well known for not talking often. Fondly he remembered the time his daughter asked him a similar question, he had told her he was only scared of Magora, a monster that came in the middle of the night to tickle the toes of those that didn’t eat all of their vegetables. “There’s plenty of scary things. I fight them almost everyday.”

“You mean the monsters?” Yiro, one of the older boys, asked while shoving one of his friends away playfully.

“Mhmm.” Link hummed and the kids knew they wouldn’t be getting anymore information than that. They thanked him and scurried off to play some game, he swore he heard one of them shout, ‘Papa, you’re a liar!’

Zelda put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. He stood and held her hand tight, together they walked to their grazing horses. The village was safe, Zelda briefed the people about the situation, there was nothing more they had to do other than ride home.

Epona raised her head and perked her ears when she saw the two of them approaching, Naya did the same once they were closer. The horses swished their tails and nickered, clearly they were looking forward to stretching their legs. Link patted his steed’s nose for a minute before situating himself onto her saddle, she stayed still throughout the ordeal. Naya was a bit more finicky while saddling, but she was still a good horse and Zelda loved her, that’s all that mattered.

The ride home was calm and slow paced, there wasn’t any need to rush themselves. They could take in the scenery without any worries, well, almost no worries. Link still kept a diligent eye out for any monsters or disguised members of the Yiga clan. Even though he was Zelda’s husband now, he was still her guard.

As they trotted through the massive field, they watched the clouds take different forms as they floated away. The old guardian remains didn’t look as menacing as they once did, especially now that they were nothing more than metal heaps of scrap obscuring the green landscape. Link often wondered if they could somehow strip the guardians and use the parts for building materials. Robbie and Zelda were working together to figure that out, they were the experts when it came to that sort of thing. While Zelda had moved on to more of the organic sciences, there was still a place in her heart for the ancient Sheikah technology. Link didn’t mind, all that mattered was that she was happy, he didn’t care as long as nothing potentially harmful was brought into their home.

When Mabe Village came into view, they picked up the pace. The corral was opened for them as they approached and Link took the time to unsaddle Epona. The stablehand offered countless times before to take care of the horses, but typically Link turned down the offer. He loved taking care of the horses as it was a bonding experience to brush them down and take care of the tack after a long ride. Zelda followed his example and brushed Naya, even though the two were close, the horse still was a bit difficult and tried on multiple occasions to steal the brush.

Once that task was complete, the pair walked home. Link admired the work he had helped build into the small town. While he didn’t do all of the work himself, he had been the one to organize everything, with Zelda’s guidance of course. The main roads were paved with evenly laid brown bricks, a wide variety of flowers were planted deliberately on the sides of the streets. The buildings were made out of the same types of stone and wood, yet they each had their own distinct look. A simple wooden fence stained black separated the village from the wilds, although it was for aesthetics and boundaries rather than for protection.

A few families from the northern countries had moved to Mabe when they heard that the  descendants from the refugees who fled Hyrule over 100 years ago would be given grants of land. In exchange for the free housing, some members of the families agreed to patrol and guard the village from outside threats. After all, Link was only one person, and he wasn’t always around to protect the townspeople. Of course not all the immigrants decided to head for the towns. Some took advantage of the free land and built their homesteads in more secluded areas of Hyrule. That was alright, of course, those people were still helping the recovering land by buying products from different merchants and such.

Mabe was a quaint village, Link was satisfied with taking residence there. Their home wasn’t flashy by any means, but it was enough for him. It beat sleeping under random trees like he once did, that much was for sure.

Paya was in the front yard playing some ball game with Karane and Viscen, all three of them swarmed Link and Zelda when they came into view. The kids clamped onto their parents’ legs, Link was thrown slightly off balance but the egg yet remained safely in his grasp.

“Dad! Dad! Did you and mom beat bad guys up?” Karane asked excitedly, she tugged on the cuff of Link’s boot for emphasis. Link picked her up in one arm and spun her around a few times as she squealed with delight.

“Link, please be careful.” Zelda chided, a slight look of worry crept on her face. “Here, I’ll take care of the egg, keep the kids entertained for a while longer.” Link handed her the odd egg and she delicately took it, instantly her worried face turned into a more pleased look. She carried the egg into the house, leaving Link to wonder what she had planned. He was confident she knew what she was doing, so he shrugged his shoulders and decided not to worry about it. Maybe they were going to have some strange egg dish for supper.

Viscen raised his hands and whined, he had been told many times to use his words, but it seemed he took after his father in that respect. Link looked at his son and waited for him to speak, he felt like a hypocrite though since he himself preferred not to talk.

“Up please!” Viscen finally said after a couple minutes of stomping around and throwing a fit. Link picked him up and carried both his children around, Paya giggled from the sidelines. She was great with the children, and Link absolutely trusted her with his and his family’s lives. While she didn’t seem intimidating from a first glance, she was still Sheikah and a skilled warrior. He couldn’t ask for a better best friend.

Eventually he let the kids down and they played a game of tag, though it was rather one sided as Karane was faster than her little brother. Paya stood next to Link and they watched the children run around without a care in the world. It hit him suddenly that his daughter was a princess, someday she would rule over the country. That wasn’t something they’d have to worry about for many years to come, but it was still something that was hard to believe.

“They grow up so fast.” Paya remarked casually, “I still remember the day Karane got a hold of one of your knives and caused a panic in the village, that only seems like yesterday.” Yes, Link remembered that incident from a year ago surprisingly well, he also remembered having to build a fortified shed to store his numerous weapons in after that.

“She’s a handful for sure.” Link commented while smoothing out his ruffled shirt. He already knew Karane would be an adventurer one day, she was curious about the world and always asked myriads of questions. He couldn’t wait to take her on more trips, they were both itching for an adventure.

Zelda opened the door and waved her hand for everyone to come inside, Link wondered why she looked so excited. When he entered his home, what he wasn't expecting to see was a weird contraption taking up space on one of their side tables in the living room. He approached it to inspect it a bit more closely. It was a solid wooden box, inside was the egg with a layer of spongy moss and dirt surrounding it. Out of curiosity, he stuck his hand inside the partially enclosed box and was surprised with how humid it felt, no doubt it had something to do with the fire rod next to it that emitted a steady supply of warmth. He didn’t think having the rod in reach of the kids was a great idea, then again, he still had no idea what this was all about.

“Mom, what is it?” Karane asked as she climbed onto the chair to peer inside the box.

“Be careful.” Zelda said in a calm, yet somewhat cautious tone of voice. “Your dad and I have been talking about getting a pet, and we’ve found one. Be nice to the egg and leave it alone so it can hatch, okay?”

“Yes, mom. I’ll be nice to Egg.” she climbed down from the chair and backed away from the box. Link looked at Zelda, completely baffed. Yes they had been talking about the possibility of getting a companion, but he had been thinking more along the lines of getting a dog. He even had first dibs on a pick of the litter from fluffy white dog that belonged to their neighbor. Zelda gave him a look, he knew they’d talk about it later. He was by no means upset or angry, he was merely confused.

He looked into the box once more, fairly confident Zelda knew what she was doing. The fire rod glowed dimly, he could feel its warmth. Zelda smiled at him and it left a giddy feeling in his heart. Sure, they might not be getting a dog right now, but whatever was going to hatch from the egg couldn’t be all that bad. Or at least that’s what he decided to tell himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Several thumps were the cause for Link’s unrest that night. The first bump he passed off as a noise from one of the various outdoor animals, since they were always causing a ruckus at unappreciated times. The second time he heard the noise, though, he decided to investigate. Next to him Zelda snored lightly, she was a heavy sleeper, at least compared to him. Taking care not to disturb her well deserved rest, he quietly tossed his blanket aside and slipped out of bed. He heard the third thump from the top of the stairs, which without a doubt came from inside the house, and grabbed the nearest object. Coat rack in hand, he carefully made his way down the steps.

  
He could feel his heart rate increasing. The people residing in the village were all trustworthy and friendly, none of them bore ill will against him or his family, but there was always the possibility a member of the Yiga Clan was seeking revenge. It could even be a lost and confused horse. Either way, he was prepared to take care of whatever it was that made its way into his home.

  
As he carefully walked down the stairs, he could see the faint glow in the living room from the fire rod projecting a shadow on the wall-it definitely appeared to be humanoid in shape. He took a few deep breaths, preparing himself for an unwanted intruder, and glanced around the corner.  
All of his anxiety and worry vanished when he saw the culprit was just their daughter, Karane. A bit of that anxiety resurfaced when he realised his five year old daughter was messing with a dangerous fire rod in the dead of night. Link dropped the coat rack and rushed into the living room, yanking away the fire rod from Karane. She gasped as she was lifted into the air by her father, he knew picking her up was the best way to get her out of immediate trouble since she just loved to run around and fight back.

  
“Dad!” she exclaimed while kicking her feet. Once she settled down, Link set her down and he picked up the fire rod off the floor/counter/shelf so he could safely put it back in its proper place on the wooden stand. He peered into the box that housed the weird egg. It had been a week since Zelda brought it home and showed no signs of doing anything spectacular, but she had mentioned her reasoning for doing all of this was field research. Link was no scientist, but he was fairly certain field research happened in the field, not at home.

  
“Dad, Egg won’t come out.” Karane whined as she climbed onto a chair to glance inside the box. Zelda’s experiment had been dubbed ‘Egg’ by the kids when it was first brought into their home, but he was certain it would be given a better name once it hatched. Karane was impatient with the whole ordeal and wanted to play with the new pet. She had been told plenty of times before to leave the egg alone and it would hatch when it was ready, but listening wasn’t her strong suit.

  
“Leave it alone.” Link said in between a yawn. Karane hung her head and grabbed her father’s hand, and he led her back to her room. Thankfully, Viscen was sound asleep in his bed; he only had to deal with one troublemaker tonight. He tucked Karane snuggly into her covers with no resistance on her part, and lingered for a few more minutes while he sat on the foot of her bed. Confident all was well and that she had finally fallen asleep, Link finally made his was back to his own room.  
Zelda hadn’t moved an inch, she slept blissfully. Link crawled underneath the blankets and scooted himself close to her. Some might have called it sweet, others may joke he was leeching off of her body heat, but he was content and was able to quickly fall back asleep.

“Dad! Dad! Come on Dad, get up!” Karane shouted as she jumped on the bed. Link quickly awoke and braced himself for the impending stomps. This was a common way for him to wake up, previous experiences told him so long as he covered himself he’d be fine. “Dad, Egg is saying hello! C’mon!” Link hardly had time to even stretch his legs before Karane grabbed his hands and was desperately trying to drag him down the stairs. Figuring resistance was pointless, he humored her and allowed himself to be pulled into the living room. Still in his pajamas and needing to use the bathroom yet, he stood in front of the incubation box next to Karane and Viscen.

  
The egg had a rather large hole in it, the leathery shell was folded in some places, it moved slightly as whatever it was inside made its way out. Zelda was, predictably, furiously writing notes in her journal, and her face was beaming. Clearly she was pleased with the events taking place. She paused only a few times, clearly deep in thought, before going back to scribbling. She always saw much more than he did, finding patterns in things he hadn't even considered looking at. He couldn't even begin to guess what was going through her head this time, but once she became fixated on something she had an insatiable need to record everything she saw.

  
Link hadn’t thought much about the little animal, it had been on the bottom of his large list of worries in favor of all the other issues that occupied his week. A few calves escaped the confines of their pen a few days prior, and Link spent most of the day gathering them while dispatching the stray monsters that were attracted to the helpless animals. That, plus the continuous need to help build the town/various parts of hyrule/etc kept him rather occupied.  
Thankfully, this morning was met with no other distractions, so Link was able to solely focus on his family and the egg. He had his suspicions about the whole ordeal, but up until now, there had been little time for questions.

  
A small, green, reptilian head popped out of the egg, the little horn on its nose breaking through the protective liquid sac that once served as the little creature’s home. The lizard cautiously bobbed its head up and down, and eventually wriggled a leg free from the egg. It was a slow process, but Zelda and the kids relished the sight before them. After what seemed like ages, the lizard finally freed itself from the egg, Zelda never taking her pen away from the parchment.  
The creature was unsteady on its feet, several times it tried moving around in the incubation box before falling over. It kept its long tail curled up, as if doing that comforted it. The kids were delighted, they clapped and laughed as the lizard made a few more wobbly attempts at walking. Zelda looked mighty pleased, but her smile faded when she looked up and saw Link didn’t share their enthusiasm. He knew exactly what the creature was, he’d seen more than his fair share.  
It was a lizalfos.

  
“We’re not keeping it.” Link stated with a calm voice. He knew the hatched lizalfos was harmless in its current state, but who knew when it would get a hold of itself and start attacking. He couldn’t kill it right in front of them, especially not with how much they had bonded with it before it hatched. It could be moved now, far, far, far away from humans while it couldn’t harm anyone. He could spare this one monster, mostly for his family’s sake.  
“But Link, think about the possibilities!” Zelda quipped without hesitation, “There’s scientific potential here, think of the breakthroughs we could have because of this opportunity.”

  
“That thing’s dangerous.” he replied while crossing his arms. The kids were still giggling and playing with the monster, even though it was a hatchling it still made him nervous that they were in such a close proximity with it. Thankfully, they were blissfully unaware of his desire to get rid of the lizalfos, and were too distracted to notice their parents conversing about it.

  
“It’s only a baby, Link, what harm can it do?”

  
A bit frustrated with Zelda’s response, Link pulled up his left pant leg and kept it rolled around his knee. The skin on his calf was discolored and made uneven by a few large scars that wrapped around his leg. Zelda’s expression changed, and he knew she realized what he was talking about. He didn’t have to say anything else, they both already knew where that particular scar had come from.

  
Link became so lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice Zelda watching him, frozen and removed from the world as he was. His stare was both piercing and dead, and he didn’t notice himself tremble. He was so absorbed in his reality that he didn't notice Zelda moving to embrace him.

  
“It’s okay.” she mumbled as she moved to hug him, “I should have realized this might happen.” He hugged back to let her know there was no harm done They remained like that for a few more minutes. Link had more than a few bad experiences with monsters, particularly Lizalfos. They were tall, fast, and on top of it all surprisingly intelligent. He didn't like the idea of keeping one in their home, and didn't doubt for one moment that the small reptile would break something or hurt someone. Then again, he guessed because of their intelligence, it was possible to train them. If Zelda could keep the lizalfos out of trouble and teach it to not to hurt people, then maybe it wouldn't be a bad short-term experiment.

  
“Keep it caged.” Link mustered to say, and Zelda’s face lit up when she heard the words. As much as he disagreed with the whole thing, Even Link could agree this was a unique opportunity to study a normally unapproachable creature, perhaps they could learn a way to deter other lizalfos by looking at this one. He still didn’t like the idea of having it anywhere near him and his family, but this seemed like a nice compromise. They could keep it penned to study until it was too big to keep, then it could be released on one of the isolated borders Hyrule... yes, that was an excellent idea indeed, one that would keep both parties happy.

  
Zelda and the kids wasted no time with getting to work on a suitable enclosure for the little lizalfos. She took them outside and they worked together on building a pen out of wood and spare cucco wire. Meanwhile, Link was left alone with the fumbling hatchling. He was glad it was a simple green one and not one of the hardier electric or fire ones. If that had been the case, then there would have been no way he would have allowed such a thing to remain in his home. No, he could deal with this one, at least for now. It could hardly walk, it was in no way an immediate threat.

  
While the kids and Zelda worked outside, Link decided it was the perfect time to write in his journal. He ventured upstairs, found his notebook on the nightstand, and opened it to a partially blank page where he dotted down the date. The entries were far and few inbetween these days, he didn’t write in it as much as he used to, especially after the Calamity was taken care of. There just wasn’t as much to talk about anymore, but he tried to record important things like milestones in the slow rebuilding of Hyrule. Naturally, he had also written of personal accomplishments, like the day he and Zelda finally got married, and the birth of his children. One of the most common things recorded in his journal, however, were his lost memories. Once in awhile he’d remember something from his past before the Calamity, and to ensure that he wouldn’t forget it again he began the habit of writing them down. He liked having a dedicated space to record his thoughts, especially since it took away the pressure of speech.

  
Once he found a pen, he brought it back downstairs and wrote about the experience with the momentary moment of spacing out. He wrote not only about the events themselves, but about how helpless he had felt back then, and about how much he hated that he still blanked out for several moments while reliving these memories.

  
When he finished writing, he tucked the journal away in a stack of Zelda’s ‘to do’ pile so she could read it later tonight. . He checked up on The lizalfos, and found that it was fast asleep in the incubation box. Oddly enough, instead of coming up with a new name for the reptile, the kids still maintained on calling it “Egg”. Knowing his family, that was probably what they would be calling it from now on.

  
He glanced out the window and saw that Zelda was working on the project alone now, Karane and Viscen had become distracted with some butterflies that flew into the yard. Link decided to go out and help her, After all, he may not agree with every decision, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be supportive of her endeavours, no matter how strange they seemed to him. If she wanted to raise a scaly-fish-eating-death-machine, then fine, he would help her in whatever way she asked.  
It was the very least he could do.

 


End file.
